Sight for firearms.



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v No. 761,706. PATENTED JUNE7, 1904.

. J. J, PEARD.

SIGHT FOR FIREARMS.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 17. 1902.

110 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented June 7, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

JAMES J. PEARD, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR -TO COLTS PATENT FIRE ARMS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CON- NECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SIGHT FOR FIREARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.761,'706, dated. June 7, 1904.

Application filed November 17, 1902. Serial No. 131,694, (N d l) To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES J. PEARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Sight for Firearms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in to that class of sights for firearms known as rear sights, and particularly to sights of this class intended for use with pistols and revolvers adapted to military service. I An effective military small-arm must be reliable, safe, and ready for instant use under the varying conditions of the service. It must therefore be of simple, strong, and compact construction to Withstand rough service without liability to become damaged or inoperative. Especially dothese requirements apply to such of the exterior parts of the arm which from their location are most exposed to become damaged. For this reason adjustable rear sights heretofore devised for target prac- 2 5 tice with non-military pistols and revolvers are not suitable for use in military service, as they are too delicate for this purpose and require too much care and time for adjustment. As revolvers are mainly intended for shooting 3 at short range, they are generally provided with short barrels and fixed non-adjustable sights; but modern improvements in the manufacture of arms and of ammunition have increased their effective range and accuracy suf- 3 5 ficicntly to require a sight which may be adjusted to at least two elevations corresponding to the minimum and to the maximum range at which the arm may be effectively fired, and

by providing the arm with a longer barrel the 4 range and accuracy may become sufiiciently increased to require an additional higher elevation of the sight and a number of subdivisions between the lowest and the higher elevations corresponding to intermediate ranges. The object of my invention 1s to provide a simple, compact, and effectlve rear slght for military pistols and revolvers which shall be adjustably but securely attached to the arm and shall be of sufficient strength for withstanding rough-service. I attain this object 5 by a novel form of a rear sight, which is adjustable to several elevations, and by the construction of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which 5 FigureI is a partial side elevation of a Colt army and navy revolver fitted with my improved rear sight. Fig. II represents a rear elevation of my sight detached and an end view of the sight-bar. Fig. III represents detail views of the operating-cam of the sight detached. Fig. IV is a partial side elevation of a similar revolver fitted with my sight, some minor parts being modified. Fig. V is a rear view of the same. Fig. VI represents detail views of the locking-pawls of the sight detached.

To facilitate the understanding of the illustrations, the several views are drawn upon an enlarged scale, and similar letters refer to 7 similarparts throughout the several views.

On account of the comparatively short maximum range of pistols and revolvers the difference between the corresponding highest elevation and the lowest elevation of an adjustable sight suitable for these arms is very small as compared with the differences between the successive elevations of the sights of other small-arms, such as rifles. Another fact which causes a small difference in elevation of the rear sight of a pistol or revolver to either of two positions, to its highest orto its lowest elevation, and that when so adjusted the sight will be securely held in either of these positions.

In the drawings, a denotes the upper rear portion of the frame of a revolver; 7), the hammer; c, a portion of the cylinder, and (Z the latch confining the cylinder in the frame. On the upper rear corner of the frame above the hammer the sight-bar (5 extends above and transversely across the frame, and the usual sighting notch or aperture in the top of the sight-bar corresponds with the longitudinal axis of the barrel and of the frame of the pistol. The under side of the sight-bar e is rounded to a quadricircular shape, and when the sight-bar is fully depressed it is seated in a correspondingly-shaped groove cut in the frame above the hammer-seat at right angles to the axis of the frame. By this arrangement the rear sight is located on the frame at the greatest possible distance from the front sight, and the transverse groove in the frame for receiving the sight-bar is so far in rear of the cylinder-mortise that it does not injuriously weaken the frame, as would be the case were it located farther forward or of an angular shape. On the left side an arm 0 extends downward from the end of the sight-bar e, fitting closely to the side of the frame above the cylinderlatch, and the rear side of the arm 0 corresponds substantially with the adjacent rear edge of the frame. A screw f, passing through an elongated hole in the arm 6 secures the sight to the frame, but allows it the required vertical movement, and a stud e projecting inward from the arm a near its lower end and fitting into an elongated recess in the frame, serves to guide and limit the movements of the sight. Above the stud c a horizontal groove is out across the inner side of the arm 6 substantially at right angles to the line of movement of the sight, and a cam g is pivotally attached to the side of the frame, so as to fit into this groove in the arm a. From the cam g a thumb-piece g extends rearward beyond the side of the arm and the edge of the frame above the cylinder-latch, the end of the thumbpiece being checked so that it provides a convenientmeans by which the cam may be turned on its pivot. The shape of the cam g is such that when the thumb-piece is turned fully downward the cam forces the sight to its lowest position on the frame, while when the thumb-piece is fully raised the cam raises the sight to its highest elevation, and as the cam r inall positions bears against both sides of the groove in thearm e the cam securely keeps the sight in either of the positions to which it may have moved the same. As the screw f must be shouldered to allow sufiicient play to the sight-arm e to freely move on the side of the frame, I prefer to provide a springwasher f between the head of the screw and the arm 6' which will yieldingly press the sight-arm against the frame, thus keeping the sight laterally in its true position without interfering with the movements of the sight by means of the cam 9.

By the construction above described'I provide an efficient rear sight readily adjusted to and secured in the highest or the lowest elevation and consisting of so few and simple parts that it is not liable to become damaged.

While for military revolvers having barrels of the limited length usual with these arms the adjustment of the rear sight to two elevations is sufficient, the adoption of a somewhat longer barrel and the consequent increase of range and accuracy may make it desirable to provide a rear sight adjustable to three or even more different elevations. For this purpose I have slightly modified some parts of my sight. As represented in Figs. 1V, V, and VI, the form of the sight, its location, and the manner of its attachment are like those which have been hereinfore specified, the limits of its movements have been extended, and the means for adjusting the sight to the different elevations and for keeping it therein have been suitably modified. I From the sight-bar e, carrying the sighting-notch, the arm (2 extends to the side of the frame of the revolver and is adjustably secured thereto by the screw f passing through an elongated hole in the arm, and at the lower end the arm a carries the stud 0 which projects into and is guided in an elongated recess in the frame. On the lower end the arm has a projection 0 which is checked and forms a convenient thumb-piece by pressing against which the sight may be moved upward or downward. Above the thumbpiece a groove is cut longitudinally through the arm 0 and a downward continuation of the groove extends through the thumb-piece, forming a central recess therein of less depth than the thickness of the arm 0. Abottom remaining under the recess unites the divided parts of the thumb-piece and supports the stud 0 In this groove and recess a double pawl it it is mounted upon the pivot-pin 71, which extends transversely through the arm a parallel to the side of the frame (1/. Below the pivot the two pawls 72 h are alike and fill the recess and being checked serve to replace the cut-away central portion of the thumbpiece a In the side of the frame beneath the arm 0 a series of three locking-notches j ,7' is cut transversely to the movement of the sight and located so that the lower notch 1' corresponds with the upper ends of the pawls it it when thesight is in the lowest position and the slght-bar rests on the frame. The

top notch 7' correspondswith the ends of the pawls when the sight is raised to the highest elevation corresponding to the additional range due to the increased length of the barrel of the pistol, and the notch 7" corresponds with the ends of the pawls when the sight is raised to the elevation which'is the highest effective one for the usual short barrel. For the reason hereinbefore explained the difference between the several elevations of'the rear sight of a pistol is very small. Therefore the locking-notches are so close together that not enough space remains between them for cutting additional notches corresponding to intermediate positions of the sight. To overcome this difliculty,one of the pawls, It, is fitted at its upper end with a narrow transverse rib fitting into the locking-notches, and when this end of the pawl is pressed inward while the sight is moved this rib on arriving over them will enter either of the three notches, and thus lock the sight in the corresponding one of the three elevations. The other pawl, it, has a similar rib which, however, is located not at the end of the pawl, but enough nearer to the pivot that this rib will stand midway between two notches when the pawl h is in either of the two upper notches. By this arrangement the pawl it will enter the two lower notches, and thus lock the sight when it is moved to elevations intermediate between those where the pawl h locks it. Between the head of the screw f and the arm a a flat spring f is provided, which is of oblong shape, its lower end being divided and each of the two parts of it resting upon the upper end of one of the two pawls it serves to yieldingly hold the pawls in the locking position, while the upper end of the spring f, resting in a shallow groove in the arm 0', prevents the spring from turning and yieldingly holds the sight in the proper position with the sighting-notch over the axis of the frame of the pistol. As represented in Figs. 1V and V, an index-line may be engraved on the sight-arm e and a scale of lines adjacent thereto 0n the frame to serve as a graduated index of the elevation of the sight. While the graduation-lines of the scale must be sharp, they are much finer and of less depth than are the locking-notches, and there is no diificulty in engraving the graduations of the scale at half the distance apart, which separates the locking-notches, so that the scale will indicate the intermediate elevations also. To adjust the sight, it is only neces sary to press upon the thumb-piece 0 This releases both pawls, so that the sight may be readily moved up or down to the desired elevation, and on the release of the thumb-piece one of the pawls will engage one of the notches and securely lock the sight. By cutting additional notches in the frame above the others and allowing more motion to the sight the pawls will lock the sight in two additional elevations for each one additional notch. 1nstead of locating the locking-ribs at different points on the two pawls, as described, both pawls may have the locking-rib at the end, so that the ribs lie side by side in astraightline. In this case to obtain the subdivision without making the locking-notches too close together two series of short locking-notches are cut in the frame side by side under the sight arm,

one series beneath each pawl, the notches in one series alternating with and intermediate the notches in the other series, so that on moving the sight the pawls will alternate in locking the sight, each pawl engaging only the notches in one of the two series. This arrangement is only a reversal of the one first described, which is preferable, because it is much more diflicult to cut the two series of short alternating notches than to cut the single series of notches across the full width covered by the sight-arm, as shown in the drawings, and to obtain two elevations from each notch by the alternating location of the locking-ribs on the two pawls, as shown in Fig. VI.

It will be understood that my invention while especially adapted to pistols or revolvers is not restricted to the use with such arms, but may be applied to any class of firearms, and it will be evident that various changes in form and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

VVhatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is r 1. A sight comprising in combination an upright arm adapted to slide on the side of the breech-frame, the top of said arm bent to extend across said breech-frame, to overhang the axis thereof and to carry the sighting-notch, a stud on said arm and a recess in the breechframe to guide said arm, means for movably attaching said arm to said breech-frame, and means for adjusting said sight and for keeping it in position after adjustment.

2. In combination the frame of a revolver having a transverse recess, a sight overhanging the axis of said frame and normally filling said recess, an arm depending from the sight and fitted to slide on the side of said frame, means for movably attaching said arm to said frame and guiding it thereon, and means for moving said sight and for keeping it in position after adjustment.

8. The combination with a sight for firearms comprising a sight-bar overhanging the axis of the barrel and a depending arm fitted to slide on the side of the breech-frame, said arm movably attached to and guided on said breech-frame, and provided with a thumbpiece for transmitting movement to said sight, of a series of notches in the breech-frame beneath said depending arm and transverse to the line of movement thereof, two pawls pivotally mounted in said arm and provided with transverse ribs standing in difierent vertical planes, and a spring to yieldingly press said pawls inward, whereby on motion of said sight the pawls alternate in engaging said notches, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, with a rear sight for line on the sight and agraduated scale on the frame, the distance between the 'graduations of said scale being one-half the distance be- 5 tween said locking-notches, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

This specification signed and witnessed this 15th day of November, A. D. 1902.

JAMES J. PEARD.

In presence of G. J. EHBETS, K. POWERS. 

